The StarLadder StarSeries XII online qualifiers have come to an end, with all eight qualified teams now settled. Alliance, Team Secret, Cloud 9 and London Conspiracy are the last teams to join and will represent the EU region in the LAN playoffs and finals to be held at Dreamhack Bucharest, in Romania, between April 24-26.
Group 1
In Group 1, the underdogs defeated the defending champions and runners-up from last season. London Conspiracy and Cloud 9 defeated both CIS teams Team Empire and ASUS.Polar. While Empire won last season, neither of the two teams will have a chance to compete again this season, leaving the playoffs and finals without any CIS representation at all. Although Cloud 9 were undefeated in their group, they have been inconsistent in their matches and wins recently.
The biggest surprise and upset came from London Conspiracy, who have recently just burst onto the scene with their all-Greek roster. The team placed first in MSI Dragonbattle, in March, and again in the Deadly Gaming Cup and StarSeries Pro Series Season XI, in January. London Conspiracy is a British eSports organization founded in early 2013. They signed their Dota 2 roster in November 2014. This is London Consipiracy’s first major LAN.
Group 2
Alliance and Team Secret were the last two teams to secure their spots, after eliminating Scaryfacezzz and Goomba. Neither of these advancements came as a surprise to most of the Dota 2 enthusiasts. With Alliance’s strong performances as of late, paired with their ESL One qualification and Team Secret overall being a dominant presence and stable team, the outcome seemed implied. However, based on the Round Robin format for the group stage qualifiers, it was revealed that Alliance would have been able to purposefully lose their next round in order to eliminate Team Secret – the toughest competition for them at the LAN, completely.
It was C9’s Jacky “Eternal Envy” Mao who brought this point to attention prior to the matches being played. Newest Alliance member Sebastian “7ckng Mad” Debs issued a pro-sportsmanship response:
@EternaLEnVy1991 we're competitors we seek victory!
— 7ckngMad (@7ckngMadDOTA) April 7, 2015
StarLadder StarSeries XII attending teams
Cloud 9
London Conspiracy
Alliance
Team Secret
Team Tinker
Invictus Gaming
ViCi Gaming
Team Malaysia
Dreamhack Bucharest LAN playoffs and finals
For the first time in the tournament’s history, the StarSeries XII finals will leave the Cybersport Arena in Kiev, to be hosted at Dreamhack Bucharest, April 24-26. The venue for the playoffs was changed amidst multiple frustrations and issues in the past regarding visas for traveling teams. The base prize pool is $80,000 plus travel support for attending teams. Casting will be provided by SLTV in Russian and Beyond the Summit in English.
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